Forever My Father
by TRAE SKITTY
Summary: Elle Dawkins, the wife of Tommy Dawkins, struggles to raise their son without his father. It's been 6 years since Tommy left. Merton has been there every step of the way to help but, with Max getting older and more curious he realizes a young boy really needs his father.
1. Chapter 1

Elle Dawkins, dressed head to toe as Catwoman, ran into her living room and hid behind a large bookcase. She could hear footsteps running into the room behind her.

"I know you're in here, Catwoman!" A tiny voiced shouted. The footsteps got closer and closer until a small boy dressed as Batman stood in front of her. A batarang held up high above his head, ready to throw.  
"Batman! You got me this time!" She said and began to tickle him. The tiny Batman fell onto the sofa, laughing hysterically. She loved these moments. The moments where everything felt normal. When she actually felt like she was a part of a happy, healthy family.

The doorbell rang and she ran to the door to answer it. She saw Merton's spiked hair through the distorted window on the front door. She opened the door and before either one of them could say anything the tiny boy in the Batman costume came running into the foyer.  
"Uncle Merton!" He ran straight into Merton, nearly knocking him over.  
"What's up, Max?" Merton asked as he hugged the little boy who looked at him confused and slightly angry. "Oh, I mean Batman! Did you stop Catwoman from stealing those diamonds from the museum?"

Max smiled and ran back into the living room, laughing the whole way. Merton looked at Elle in her Catwoman attire. She had always been a big fan of Batman and she loved costumes. The minute he found out she was pregnant, he knew she would be the best mother a child could have, even when she couldn't believe it herself.  
"I don't know who enjoys this more – you or him?"  
Elle smiled and took the Catwoman cowl off of her head, letting her long blonde hair fall down her shoulders. "I've had a long morning of thievery. I'm exhausted." Merton followed her into the living room, where Max was running around with his cape flying behind him. The two sat down on the sofa and watched the boy run all his energy out. When he finally got tired, he jumped on the sofa next to his mother.

"Is Gotham safe now, Batman?" Elle asked.  
"Duh, Mom," he said and took off his mask. Merton couldn't believe how much he looked like Tommy. It made him feel like he was still in that wormhole talking to their younger selves before going to stop Boris. It was a constant reminder of Tommy' absence in their lives.  
"Good, because Catwoman needs to start making something delicious for us to eat for lunch."  
"Uncle Merton?"  
"Yeah, buddy?"  
"Are you my Dad?"

Elle had been playing with the little boy's hair, stroking it gently. She stopped and looked at Merton. They stared at each other for a long time, not knowing what to say. He could see the tears welling up in her eyes. Even after 6 years, it still hurt like a fresh wound.  
"No. I'm your Uncle, Max. You know that. Why would you ask that?"  
Max sighed and fidgeted. "Well, everyone at school has a Dad. There's even a boy that has 2 Dads! I just figured since you were always around you were my Dad but, just had a weird name or something."

Merton looked at Max, not knowing what to say. The poor kid had never known his father. He couldn't imagine growing up without his father. There are tons of children that grow up with only 1 parent but, for Max it was different. He was half werewolf. Normal kids are hard enough to raise but, raising a child with supernatural powers when you're nothing but a mere mortal is much more difficult. Some questions had already popped up about why he was different and together, he and Elle had answered them to the best of their ability. But this boy really needed his father. Someone who could, from experience, teach him how to live as a werewolf.


	2. Chapter 2

NOTE: This story is an idea that randomly popped into my head while I was bored at work. I figured in my down time, I'll feed the idea and run with it. I have no idea where it's going but, hope you guys enjoy the ride.

This wasn't the first time Max had asked about his father. He had been asking questions since he learned to talk. For the longest time Elle never knew what to tell him, mostly because she didn't know how to make someone so young understand it all. She went through all the options in her head. There were so many times that she wanted to tell him that his father was dead. Sometimes it seemed like that would make it easier. However, she couldn't bring herself to say it. For the longest time she kept thinking to herself, he'll be coming back any day. As the years went by, she realized that that wasn't going to happen but. No matter what had happened, she still loved him deep down. She wanted to hate him. She really did. But the truth is that he was the love of her life and the father of her child and she just couldn't bear to hate him.

"Do you remember what I told you about your Daddy?" Elle asked him, as he nervously played with the Batman mask in his hands.  
"He's a superhero."  
"Yes. He is. Your Daddy is out there saving the world just like Batman. His job is very dangerous and he doesn't want us to get hurt. He said that when the world is safe again, he'll come home."  
" I know. I just wish that he wasn't a superhero sometimes."  
"I know, baby. Me too," she said and held him close to her. Max held his arm out for Merton to join the hug and he happily accepted.

"We love you, kiddo," Merton said. "Now who's ready to make tacos?"

Max jumped off the couch and screamed, "Oh! I am!"

"Let's go get started!" He followed Merton into the kitchen. Elle sat on the couch staring off in the distance. Her face had no expression. It was completely blank. She got up, walked to the bookcase and removed a small paperback book from the top shelf. She opened it to a page that was bookmarked with a picture of her and Tommy. It was from a random day at the zoo. They both looked so happy. The tears welled up again and she reminded herself that she had to be strong. She placed the picture back into the book and placed the book back on the shelf.

Max had seen pictures of his Dad before but, they weren't something that she had hanging on the walls. They had just moved into the house when he left, so she never bothered getting their wedding pictures printed and hung on the walls. She didn't want a constant visual reminder of the missing piece of her life. She had plenty of other things to remind her.  
Elle gathered herself together and walked into the kitchen to help with dinner. Merton came over for dinner most nights. He lived just down the street. He spent so much time at the Dawkins residence; it was surprising he didn't live there. The only time he spent at home was to write and sleep. He had published several books and made a decent amount of money on them. Most of them were books about lycanthropy, specifically on Tommy but, he had written a couple of science-fiction books as well. Besides that, the only other time he was at home was if he was sleeping or had a girl over. Most nights if he didn't have a girl over, he was sleeping in the guest room next to Max's.  
After dinner, Merton told them a ghost story by the fire place. Max begged for one every time. You could tell Merton was the only male role model in his life because he loved everything spooky. Just as Merton was about to tell another story, Max began to fall asleep.  
"Aw man, this next one was good," Merton said, disappointed.

"I'm sure you'll get another chance to tell it. Looks like it's time for me to put this pup to bed," Elle said, yawning. "Damn, this kid wear me out. It's my bedtime too, I guess." She looked at her phone and it was only 8:30.  
"You're officially an old lady," Merton said, hugging her.  
"You're going home tonight?"  
"Yeah, I got some new ideas that I need to get out of my head."  
"Goodnight, Merton."  
"Goodnight, Elle. Goodnight, Max." Merton said before he bent down and kissed the boy on the head. Merton walked out the front door and closed it behind him. The air had a slight chill to it, making him pull his jacket tighter around him on his way back home. He couldn't keep his mind off of Max. Sure, the kid had questions now but, the older he gets, kids in school will realize who he is and who his father is. He could only begin to imagine what kind of trouble this would cause for him. Merton knew that he needed to find Tommy right away. Elle was going to be mad when she found out that Merton had been in contact with Tommy since he left and didn't tell her. But it was one of the many things that she was just going to have to get over.


	3. Chapter 3

Merton J. Dingle drove his hearse down the interstate. He didn't know exactly where Tommy was but, he knew he was staying in a town about 2 hours away from Pleasantville. He had met up with Tommy once since he left. Tommy had called him and asked him to meet him. Tommy was still confused and unsure of what to do since his Father's death at that point. Merton had sat with him at the bar for hours, comforting and consoling him. Merton had told him to take some time to think about things on his own and come back to town when he had everything figured out. He would have never told Tommy that had he known he was going to just disappear from their lives but, he didn't know what to tell the big guy at the time. Death can do that to people.

His cell phone rang and he glanced down to see that it was Melanie calling. She was a cute blonde with a love for anything vintage. He had been on a few dates with her and liked her a lot. He wished he could scoop her up and bring her back to his house but, his family came first. He ignored the phone call, knowing he might have to stay the night in a hotel considering it was already 9:30 and he wasn't even there yet. He felt bad for ignoring her but, he was entirely too distracted to talk right now.

The first place he would check was a bar called J&amp;K. It was the last place he had seen Tommy. He walked in the door and surveyed the place. There were plenty of people there but, he didn't see Tommy. Merton sat at the end of the bar furthest from the entrance and ordered a drink. He pulled up a picture of Tommy on his cell phone and showed it to the bartender.  
"Seen this guy come in here lately?"  
The bartender stared at the picture and shook his head from side to side. "Never seen him come in here. Wait a second! That's the werewolf and you're the guy always writing books about him, right?"  
"That's me."  
"Awesome books, man. Shame what happened."  
"Thanks. So you've never seen him here before?"  
"No, sorry."

Merton knew it wasn't going to be that easy. Every person that walked in the door, he almost jumped out his seat, thinking and hoping that it was Tommy. Getting bored, he started to get acquainted with the people sitting around him at the bar. The bartender told him about his acting career and how he dreamed of being in movies, he only did bartending for the extra money. The older man sitting next to him told him of crazy stories, confirming Merton's theory of him being the lunatic town drunk.  
After 2 hours, he started to lose hope and began to search other places in town on his phone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Merton saw the door open. This time he didn't jump out of his seat. Even though the man that stood in front of the door looked vastly different that he remembered, he knew it was his best friend. He had a thick brown beard and long hair he could tuck behind his ears. He started walking towards the bar and Merton pulled the hood of his jacket over his head. He had come here to talk to Tommy but, realized he had no idea what to say. Tommy ordered a beer and sat at a table on the other side of the bar.

Merton felt paralyzed. For some reason, he was scared of him. He hadn't seen him in years, which was weird considering they used to see each other every day. He knew that he needed to suck it up and approach him. Merton walked up behind Tommy and stood still for a moment, collecting his thoughts.  
"Why are you here?" Tommy grumbled without even turning around to look at him.  
Merton walked around the table to face him but, Tommy stared down at the table. "How'd you know I was here?"  
"I could pick your scent out of a lineup."  
"I swear I put deodorant on this morning…" Merton began to mumble and nervously make jokes.  
"Shut up. Sit down." Merton did as Tommy said. He took a seat and immediately began to fidget. Tommy slowly looked up at Merton. He had a look in his eyes that Merton didn't recognize. Tommy always had a glimmer of happiness in his eyes. Not now. They looked deep and dark and it downright scared him. "Why are you here?"

"Tommy, I...I need to talk to you," Merton stuttered over his words. "I know that you've been gone for 6 years and you don't want anything to do with your old life anymore but, a lot of things have happened and now more than ever we really need-"

"I'm not going back. I can't go back."  
"Tommy, you don't understand-"  
Tommy slammed his hands on the table and leaned over the table. "I can't go back. Not after everything that happened. Too many people suffered because of me. You're all better off without me."  
"You don't realize what you did when you left us! You think you're saving us, running away but, you made it so much worse. Everything is a mess! First off, Pleasantville is overrun with monsters. I'm doing my best to patrol and keep everyone educated on how to protect themselves but, I'm only human. I can only do so much."  
"That town doesn't want me to protect them."  
"They cherished your protection for a long time and I know that when everything went down, they doubted you but, I've been out there proving them wrong. I'm out there doing interviews, telling people the truth in every way that I can! I just published another book for God's sake! You know how many books I've written about you and what you've done? Sure, there's the few that refuse to believe that you're a good werewolf but, my books have turned so many people around to the truth! Not just in Pleasantville, all over the country!"

Tommy nervously looked around. Merton was getting loud and pretty damn angry. Even though the truth of him being a werewolf was out there, he moved away and grew his hair and beard out to hide. He hated his celebrity status. He had managed to keep quiet in this town for 6 years and he wanted to keep it that way.  
"I know everything you've done, Merton. I've read every single one of your books, which you know is an accomplishment for me. I loved every single one. If they had come out when my secret first went public, maybe it would have made a difference but, you know that everyone in Pleasantville blames Lori's and my dad's death on me." Tommy paused and hurriedly bottled his emotions. He couldn't even mention their deaths without tearing up. "Not to mention, two people have died because of me. Sure I didn't actually kill them but, if it wasn't for me, it would have never happened. That's why you're all better off without me."

"You got it all wrong! We're lost without you! Your Mom misses you so much, Tommy. She lost her husband, the love of her life and the father of her two sons! Dean has stepped up; you wouldn't even recognize him anymore! He's lost a lot of weight and he's all into fitness now. He's taking care of your mother but, she needs you."  
"She's safer without me," Tommy said, taking the last swig of his beer and then tossing it in the trash can.  
"What about Elle? She's a strong woman but, she's broken inside. She's not the same person she used to be when you were around. I remember when we first met her and the thing that I loved about her first was her laugh. I haven't heard that laugh in years, Tommy!"  
"She's safer without me."  
"What about me, huh? I lost my best friend! You were the first friend I ever had, Tommy! The only person who ever really cared about me! I guess you never really cared if you can just leave without any warning. You left because you were scared but, we were scared too!" Merton was starting to yell louder.  
Tommy said quietly, "You're safer without me."  
Merton stood up and gently pushed in his chair. "You know what? Maybe I am safer without you. Maybe your Mom is safer without you. Maybe Elle is safer without you. I know one thing for sure. Your son is safer growing up without you in his life. He doesn't need a coward for a father." Merton grabbed his keys out of his pocket and stormed out of the bar.


	4. Chapter 4

Merton was unlocking the door, when Tommy pushed him against the hearse. He held one hand around Merton's throat and one flat against his chest. "What the hell did you say in there?"  
Merton choked before saying, "What, now you care? Max doesn't need you. I thought he did but, he doesn't."  
Tommy's eyes began to glow yellow, "Who is Max?"  
"He's your son, Tommy. You have a son."  
Tommy let go of Merton and backed away from him, confusion flooding his face. "Is this some sort of trick to get me to come back home?"  
"No. He's why I came here tonight."  
"You're lying," Tommy growled.  
"Why would I lie to you, Tommy?" Merton said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, pulled up a picture of Max with his mother and showed it to him. "That's your son."  
Tommy looked at the picture in disbelief. He stared at a young boy that looked like eerily like him. "How…"  
"He's 6 years old. He's super smart. Absolutely loves comic books and superheroes. He's a good kid but, he's got a lot of questions about you and about his powers. Elle and myself have done our best to explain things to him but, he needs a father."  
"He's a werewolf?"  
Merton gave him an are-you-kidding-me look. "He's young so I don't know the full extent of his powers. I'm not really sure if he's a full-on werewolf since Elle's only human but, he shows most symptoms."  
"I can't believe this," Tommy said, cupping his head in his hands.  
"I've done my best to be there for Elle and we pretty much raised him together. When he first started asking questions about you, he was so young and we didn't know what to say, so we told him that you were a superhero and you were out saving the world. It was the only thing we knew he would understand," Merton smirked and added, "He started drawing a comic book about you."  
A very small smile crept onto Tommy's face.

"I thought you already knew. It's been mentioned on the news a couple of times. We tried our best to keep it quiet but, you know how that goes."  
"I don't watch TV much."  
"You know what he asked me today? He asked me if I was his father. He said he knew what we had told him about you but, he thought because I was always around I was really his father. It broke my heart, Tommy. I love this kid more than anything in this world. I don't want him to be hurt. He's been in school without any major incidents. But now that he's getting older, I have a feeling things are going to get more complicated. He needs someone who understands what he's going through." Tommy kept staring at the picture on Merton's phone. "I thought if I came here tonight and told you about Max, you would come home and maybe everything would change and be normal. Deep down, no matter what happens, you're still my best friend and I want Max to know how amazing his father is."  
Tommy handed the phone back to Merton and gave him a hug. Merton flinched at first, not knowing exactly what he was going to do.  
"Elle and I used to argue over baby names. We weren't even ready to have kids but, the conversation would come up and I always joked that if we had a boy I wanted to name him John Elway Dawkins. She used to get so mad about it. So I told her if I couldn't name him that, I always liked the name Max.  
"His middle name is Elway."  
Tommy laughed, "Max Elway Dawkins. I won't let him down, Merton. I promise." 


	5. Chapter 5

Elle was running across town, as fast as her legs would take her. She could sense someone following her. She could see Tommy's parent's house. It was close but, she didn't think she could make it any farther. She sprinted the rest of the way and finally made it inside the house. She leaned against the back of the front door, catching her breath. She saw Tommy kneeling on the floor, crying. Then she saw Tommy's father's lifeless body lying in front of him. His entire body was beaten, bruised and bloody. She heard a noise coming from behind her. She turned around and a werewolf jumped at her.

Elle jolted awake. She was just dreaming. The night they had found Bob Dawkins' dead had haunted her dreams many nights. Besides the running and the werewolf attack at the end, everything else was exactly how she remembered. The gory scene had been haunting her different lately, adding new things, as if it wasn't scary enough on its own.

As she sat upright in bed staring distantly, Max came running into her bedroom. Elle took control of her emotions and did her best to put on a smile. "Mom, can we go to the comic book shop today?"  
"Sure, baby."  
"Mom, are you okay?"  
Elle looked at her little boy, his eyes full of concern. "I'm fine. Let's go get dressed so we can buy some comics!"

As Elle and Max were walking to the driveway and getting in the car, she had that creepy feeling like they were being watched. She got Max into the car and looked up and down the street but, saw nothing out of the ordinary. Although, she couldn't shake the feeling. She was feeling paranoid during the whole drive to the comic book shop. Max sat in the back seat ranting about the new Batman comic, but she wasn't listening. Elle parked in front of the store and Max immediately jumped out of the car and began to run inside.  
"Max Elway! Do not run off without me! You know better than that!"  
Max turned around and looked at Elle with his big hazel brown eyes. "Sorry, Mom. Come on, the comics are waiting!"  
Elle caught up with her son and they walked inside the comic book shop. Max's eyes lit up like it was Christmas. This was his favorite day of the month. He ran down the aisles and grabbed one issue after another.

"Good morning, Elle," A man with shaggy hair behind the counter said to her and waved.  
"Hey, Charlie!" She sat down at the stool sitting next to the counter. She kept an eye on Max running around the store.  
"I've got something you might like," he said and pulled a bag from behind the counter. He carefully placed a black bag on the counter and smiled.  
"Thank god. I thought this was steering in the direction of a dick joke. What is it?" Charlie only smiled and began to take a comic ever so carefully out of the bag. He took it out and placed it in front of Elle. It was a first print Mad Love signed by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, the writers of the comic. "How did you get that?"  
"A customer came in the other day selling a bunch of comics. He had some good ones but, he wanted a little too much money for them so I only bought a handful. I saw this one and remembered that you said that your copy got messed up in the move and I know you were pretty upset about it so, I knew I had to get this one."  
"Charlie, that's so sweet but, I don't think I can spend that kind of money today."  
"You don't have to. It's a gift."  
"I can't-"  
"Please, Elle. I bought it for you. I know you've been looking for another copy."  
Elle wanted to argue with him but, she realized she would never win. "Thank you." Elle had become good friends with Charlie over the years just from coming into the store and talking about comics. When Tommy left, Elle worked in the shop for a while because Charlie needed some temporary help. Not to mention it helped her get her mind off of everything else. He had fallen in love with her but she told him upfront that she wasn't looking for a relationship and he understood that. They remained friends but, anyone could tell that he still loved her. If she ever changed her mind, he'd be at her door step in a heartbeat.

"What's up Max?" Charlie asked as Max walked up to the counter with his stack of comics.  
"Nothing, just getting some comics," he said and handed them over to him.  
"Let's see what you got – a few Batman comics, Teen Titans, Avengers – all good choices, man. I'll just ring these up and I have the usuals back here for you, Elle."  
"Sounds good," she said as she took her wallet out of her purse. She saw someone standing outside the store, staring through the window. Shadows hung over his face preventing her from seeing his face clearly. She handed Charlie some cash and when she looked back to the window, the man was gone.  
"You okay, Elle?"  
"Uh…yeah. Thanks for everything, Charlie," she said as she took the bag, grabbed Max's hand and walked to the car.  
Elle nervously checked her mirrors the whole way home. When her phone rang, it scared her so bad she almost swerved into the next lane. She answered it and it picked up through the blue tooth on her car. "Hey, Merton. Max and I are on our way home with some new comics."  
"Awesome! Want me to meet you at the house?"  
"Yeah, we'll be there in a couple of minutes," Elle said and hung up. She didn't mention her paranoia to Merton because she didn't want Max to overhear and get scared. When they got home, Max ran to the backyard to go read his comics in his hammock. Elle stopped at the front door to fix her new fall wreath and then got another creepy feeling. She reached inside her purse for her gun and swung around to see it pointing at her husband.


	6. Chapter 6

The gun started shaking in Elle's hands. She couldn't believe Tommy was standing in front of her. He was barely recognizable with his thick beard and long hair tucked behind his ears but, she looked in his eyes and knew it was him. She had pictured in her mind a million times what she would say, what she would do if he showed up again. However, she just stood there shaking a gun in his face, her mind racing endlessly all while being completely blank at the same time.

He reached to lower the gun from his face. "Don't touch me!" Elle screamed and steadied her hand.

"I didn't expect this for a welcome party," Tommy said, putting his hands up in the air.  
Elle stood in disbelief. "You really think after leaving me for 6 years without any word, I would just welcome you back?"  
"So your solution is to shoot me?" He laughed, tucked his hair behind his ears and put his hands back down at his side.

Elle put the gun down and took a deep breath. "No. I'm just protecting myself."  
"From your husband? I'm not going to hurt you, Elle."  
"Husband? I know that may be your legal relation to me but, I wouldn't call you that. You left," she said, the tears she was trying to hold in, starting to fall, "You left me all alone in the midst of all that crap. You left everyone and everything behind and didn't give a shit."  
"That's not true. I had to leave. It was too much. I couldn't take it."  
Elle laughed. "But you thought I could? So you left me to deal with all the bullshit?"  
"After everything that I went through when my secret went public, I just couldn't take anymore."  
"I went through all of it too, you know!"  
"Not like I did. You could never -"Tommy was interrupted by Max running from the backyard and over to his mother. Max stood in between the two as he stared at Tommy with rage mixed with curiosity. His eyes flashed yellow.

"Who are you?" Max asked, standing as tall as possible, trying to look tough.  
Before Tommy could say anything, Elle interrupted. "Max, this is an old friend of mine. We're just talking. Go back to your hammock and read your comics."  
He looked at Elle and then back at Tommy. "You don't talk to each other like friends. You're angry."  
"Max Elway, I said go read your comics."  
Max wanted to protest but, then noticed Merton walking up the driveway and ran towards him. "Uncle Merton! I got the new Batman! I have it in the backyard!"  
Merton noticed Tommy and Elle. "The new Batman? Well, why are we up here not reading it! Let's go!" Max ran to the backyard as Merton nodded at Tommy and followed after him. Tommy couldn't believe his eyes. He looked so much like him, it was unreal.  
"What do you want?" Elle asked.  
"I want to come back home. I miss you, Elle."  
"I've been waiting 6 years for you to come back and say those words to me. 6 years," Elle said, tearing up again. "And now, here you are. When you left, my world ended. I had to learn to live life without you which was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. On top of all of that, I found out I was pregnant and realized I would have to raise a child on my own. I lost countless hours of sleep, staring at the ceiling, wondering when you would come back to me. You're my everything, Tommy. I love you more than life itself. But, why now?"  
"Max needs me."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"A boy needs his father. Especially someone like Max."  
"It took you 6 years to realize that?"  
"I just found out about him last night."  
"I don't know if I want you to be a part of his life."  
Tommy was surprised by this. "Why?"  
"You've been absent for the entirety of his life and now you just want to come in and play Daddy? Good Dads are reliable and that's one thing you aren't, Tommy Dawkins."

"I realize that you don't trust me anymore but, I love you Elle. Even though I don't know Max, I love him too. He's half you and half me. I couldn't imagine anything in this world cooler than that. I want to be there for him. I want to protect him. I want to explain anything and everything that he's ever wanted to know. Merton was right. He needs me."  
"What do you mean, 'Merton was right'?" Elle narrowed her eyes, suspiciously.  
"Merton told me about Max last night, telling me that he needed me because his powers were getting stronger and he had more questions about the wolf. He's right."  
"Merton just magically knew where to find you?"  
"Well not exactly. I had seen him after I ran away but I really haven't talked to him since but, he just went back to the same place we met before and found me."  
"That little son of a-" before Elle could finish, Merton was standing next to her like his ears had been ringing.  
"Merton!" Both Elle and Tommy yelled at the same time.

"Heh heh. Look at you two. Together again. Isn't this the perfect-Ow!" Merton yelled after Elle had hit him in the arm.  
"Dingle, you knew! You knew where he was the whole time! You lied to me for 6 years! Then on top of all of that, you go behind my back and tell him to come home without me knowing?"  
"Elle, I thought I was doing the right thing."

"I thought I could trust you, Merton. You were everything to Max and I. You were always there for us. I must be as gullible as I look."

"You can still trust me, Elle."  
"Leave. Both of you leave." Tommy and Merton looked at her, not knowing what to say. "I said leave!" Merton nudged Tommy and they started walking towards Merton's house. When Tommy got to the street, he looked back at Elle. She was standing with her arms crossed; looking so mad he was surprised steam wasn't coming out of her ears. Then he saw a curious face peek from the backyard. Max had his head stuck in the opening of the gate trying to get a glimpse of all the excitement. Tommy took a deep breath and he smiled ever so slightly. He knew that Elle was mad and he knew that it would be hard but, no matter what he was going to be a part of this family. He wanted to be the husband and father that he should have been a long time ago. 

Elle gently put the gun back in her purse and walked inside. She closed the door and leaned against it, sobbing. She was trying her hardest to keep all her emotions trapped inside for Max's sake but, she just couldn't do it. She slid down to the floor and held her head in her hands. "Keep it together, Elle," she whispered to herself. She took a couple of deep breaths, wiped her face and opened the back door to check on Max.  
The second he heard the door open, he was running towards Elle. "I didn't mean to interrupt you, go read your comics."

"That man smelled funny," he said looking up at her. She looked at him in confusion. She didn't notice anything repulsive about Tommy other than the way he made her feel.

"Max, that's not nice."  
"No, Mom. He did. He didn't smell like you or Merton or anyone I've ever smelled before. He smelled different."  
"I don't know what you mean, Max."  
Max looked at her, studying her. Sometimes she forgot that he was only 6 years old. He was so smart and mature for his age. Because of his "condition" he didn't have a lot of friends so he spent most of his time with adults. He was a very friendly and likeable kid but, most parents were scared and didn't want their children hanging out with a monster. Everyone knew what he was and knew what had happened to their family. He looked at her with a face that she had never seen on her child before. "He's my Dad, isn't he?"


	7. Chapter 7

Sally Dawkins, Tommy's mother, had moved into a new house next door to Dean and his new wife, Angela. She couldn't stand living in that big empty house with all those bad memories by herself. The new house was perfect for her, less to clean and take care of by herself but, she had enough room to entertain. Elle sat in the living room, nervously playing with her keys as Sally gave all her attention to her grandson. "My handsome little man!" He giggled and squirmed as she planted a big kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for watching him. I won't be long. I just need to get a few things done."

"You sure everything is okay, honey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stressed at the moment," Elle said, lying to her mother-in-law. She hated doing it but, she needed to talk to Tommy before she told his mother he was home. Max hugged Elle's leg. She crouched down to his level. "I'll be right back. Remember what I said. Our little secret," Elle whispered, looking back behind her shoulder make sure Sally didn't hear. Max shook his head. "Love you, kiddo."

"Love you too," Max said hugging her again.

* * *

Elle knocked on Merton's door and waited what seemed like forever for one of them to answer the door. The door finally opened to reveal a clean-shaven Tommy. He looked like the man she married again. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck not saying a word. "We need to talk," Elle said pushing past him. She saw Merton sitting on the couch in the living room so she walked to the kitchen and opened the door to the backyard. She turned around and saw Tommy still in the front room, looking at Merton for an answer. "You coming, Dawkins?"

Merton signaled with his hands to go with her so, Tommy followed her to the backyard. He closed the door behind him and looked at her. She looked back at him sternly at first and then her face softened into an almost smile. She reached out and hugged him. Tommy was caught off guard but, happily hugged her back. It felt good.

"Did you mean everything you said earlier about wanting to come back and stay with us?"

He loosened himself from her hug and held her arms. "I meant every word." Elle smiled and began to cry. "Why are you crying?"

"I've missed you so much, Tommy. I just can't believe you're here."

"I'm here and I'm not going away ever again. I'm so sorry that I made you feel this way. I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was giving you a life by leaving. I just couldn't take it anymore – the guilt, the paparazzi, the dirty looks whenever we would go out in public. I needed to get away from it all, just for a little while. I wasn't originally going to stay gone that long but, then I thought maybe you could have a normal life without me. I thought I was saving you," he said, starting to cry.

"The madness never stopped. Merton's books didn't help but, they needed to be out there for people to read. I wanted people to know the truth about you. He didn't want to publish them. He thought it would make things worse but, I pushed him to do it. I wanted people to know the truth about you and it did help. Things never calmed down but, there were quite a few positive articles and news reports about you. When my baby bump started showing, things got insane. I had protestors at the door every day telling me to abort. That's when it was too much. I couldn't go anywhere by myself."

"I'm so sorry, Elle."

"It's okay. You didn't know," Elle said and started to laugh. "I want to hate you so bad, you know that? I want to but, I can't. I love you so much."

"I love you too."

"I want you to come back home. I'm sorry for my reaction earlier but, you have to understand, I thought you were never coming back. I've been loving you and hating you for 6 years. I didn't know how to react. I accepted the fact that I would be on my own a long time ago. A lot has changed since you left, I've changed. Just understand that you won't be the only one adjusting."

"I understand completely. I'm sorry. I feel like I can't say that enough."

"I know. Now that we got all of that out of the way, are you ready to meet your son?"

* * *

Elle stepped out of her bright blue Jeep that was parked in Sally's driveway and noticed Tommy didn't get out with her. She walked over to his side of the vehicle and saw that he was so nervous he was about to wolf out. "Tommy, are you coming inside?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was so scared. Possibly more scared than he's ever been. He was a father. Most parents have 9 months to prepare for a child. He had one day. He had always wanted to make his own little family with Elle but, he wasn't sure what Max would think of him. He opened his eyes and the wolf calmed down. "What does he know about me?"

"He's seen pictures of you before. He immediately recognized you earlier today, which surprised me because I could hardly recognize the lumberjack version of you. All of his life, he's asked about you and we've told him that you were a superhero and that you couldn't come home until you saved the world."

"Well that's a lot of pressure," Tommy said with a snort.

"I don't know why, you've saved the world before, heck, you might even do it again one day. Evil never gives up," Elle said as Tommy nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. I'm sure he'll be so excited to finally have you home."

Tommy stepped out of the car and they walked to the front door. Elle turned around and gave an encouraging smile and then knocked on the door. Tommy took another deep breath.

The door opened and Sally began yapping away about Max running around and making a mess. "He's hyped up like I've been feeding him nothing but pixie sticks…," Sally stopped mid-sentence when she noticed Tommy. She threw her hands to her mouth and started to cry. "Tommy…my baby…is it really you?" Before he could answer, she threw her arms around him, hugging him like she was never going to let go.

Elle walked inside to give them some private time and to find Max. She found him wrestling with Dean in the living room. "I'm back!" Max broke free from Dean's grip and ran over to Elle, his hair sticking up all kinds of crazy. She smoothed his hair and crouched down to his level. "Your Father is home. Would you like to meet him?"

Max's eyes got real big, a mixture of emotions on his face. He nodded, Elle stood up and lead him to the front door. Elle saw that Dean's face held the same disbelief. Sally was still attacking her son with hugs on the porch with the front door wide open. Elle cleared her throat and they both turned towards her and saw Max, which brought Sally to tears all over again. "Max, I want you to meet your Father."

Tommy walked over to him and crouched down. "Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long but, I'm finally home and I'm here to stay."

Max looked at him, no emotion on his face. He looked back at his Mother and then to his Grandmother as if they held answers or guidance that he was looking for. They both only smiled at him. He looked back at Tommy and gave him a hug. Max pulled away and curiously examined Tommy. "So, you're like me?"

"Yes, I'm a werewolf, just like you and I'm going to teach you everything I know about being one."

"Cool," Max said with a big smile on his face. Tommy laughed and looked up at Elle, who had a huge smile on her face. He stood up and hugged her while Max wedged himself between the hug. Sally joined in on the hug, followed by Dean. When they let go of the hug Tommy finally noticed his brother.

"Dean?"

"It's me, little bro," he said with his usual chuckle.

"Merton told me you lost weight but, you're like a whole new person!" Tommy hugged his brother. "I can fit my arms around you!"

"Yeah, I had a health scare, got off the lazy boy, started exercising and eating healthy. It's changed my life. I met the love of my life and now I'm married."

"You're married! Congratulations, Dean," Tommy looked around at his family and the new house that his mother was living in, "Everything has changed so much."

"Alright, I'm making dinner for everyone tonight! How does lasagna sound?"

* * *

Merton and Angela came over and they had a big family dinner. Everyone was smiling and laughing. It was a perfect moment. Tommy had never seen his Mom so happy before. It upset him to think that he had been missing something this amazing for 6 years. They stayed long after they were finished eating but, the time caught up with them and it was time for everyone to go home.

"It was so nice to finally meet you, Tommy," Angela said giving her brother-in-law a hug.

"I'm so glad you're back home, honey," Sally said, giving him one last hug.

Tommy, Elle and Max waved goodnight to Merton and climbed into the Jeep. The trip back home was short but, Tommy kept looking at his son sitting in the backseat. He was amazed by him already and wanted to learn more about him. He had 6 years of catching up to do and he was ready for the challenge. When Tommy walked into the house that they had bought together, it felt strange to him. The last time he had seen it, it was almost completely empty. Now, it had warmth. It looked like a home.

Max grabbed Tommy's arm and pulled him towards the stairs. He could feel the wolf strength in the innocent pull and it surprised him. "I want to show you something!" Max started running up the stairs towards his room. Tommy slowly followed after him, stopping to look at every picture of the little boy that hung on the walls. When Tommy entered Max's room, he noticed Batman stuff everywhere - bed sheets, pictures on the wall, and action figures on the shelves. There was even a giant penny and a T-Rex painted on the wall, to look like the bat cave. "I'm guessing Batman is your favorite superhero."

"Yep! Well, my favorite that has a comic. You didn't have one so I made one for you," Max said as he dug through his closet. He pulled out a comic book and handed it to Tommy. It was a plain white comic book that Max had drawn on. The front cover said 'The Amazing Wolfman' with a drawing of what appeared to be Tommy, all wolfed-out with a bright red cape on. Tommy flipped through the pages that showed him fighting random bad guys. The very last page had a drawing of him with Merton, Elle and Max and at the bottom it said, 'Now that my Dad has saved the world, he can come back home and teach me how to be a hero too'.

Tommy closed the comic and looked up at the little boy who was watching him intently. "That was the best comic book I've ever read."

"Really?"

"Yeah, bud. I love it. Thank you. I'll keep this forever."

"I think it's time to clean up for bed," Elle said walking into the room.

"But I'm not tired," Max said with a big yawn.

"Not tired, huh? I put your PJ's in the bathroom already. Go," she said and he walked to the bathroom.

"He is truly your child," Tommy said pointing out all the Batman décor.

"He might have my interests but, he looks nothing like me. That is little Tommy Dawkins all the way."

"I knew he was an attractive kid," Tommy said with a smirk and Elle punched him in the arm.

"I think my love of comic books and superheroes was the only thing that helped me with becoming a mother. I was so lost; I didn't know how to act around kids. I realized that all my interests were the same as a 7 year old little boy and suddenly I knew what to do," Elle laughed as she plugged in Max's night light. Max came stumbling back into his room, the sleepiness starting to set in. He got in bed, she handed him his Batman plushie and tucked him in. "Goodnight, Batman. I love you," she said and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight. I love you too," he said as another yawn erupted.

Tommy bent down and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight, little man."

"Goodnight, Dad," Max said with a sleepy smile. Tommy got up and started to walk into the hallway when Max shot up. "Wait, will you still be here when I wake up? I don't want you to leave again."

Tommy walked over to the little boy and tucked him back in. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too," Tommy said, turned off the lights and closed the door behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

The alarm on Elle's phone went off Sunday morning and she woke up to find herself alone in bed. This had been routine for a long time but then she remembered her husband had come home yesterday. The first thought that crossed her mind was that all of it was a dream – a cruel but awesome dream. She rubbed her face and tried to grab a hold of reality. There was no way yesterday had been a dream. It was too real. Too amazing. Her next thought was that maybe he got scared or overwhelmed and left once again. As her thoughts wondered, she heard a door close downstairs. She grabbed the pistol from her nightstand and crept into the stairway. She slowly walked down the stairs and when she entered the living room she could hear someone in the kitchen. She leaned her back against the wall and slowly walked towards the kitchen where she found Tommy drinking a glass of water.

"Jesus Christ, Tommy!" He lowered the glass from his lips and looked at her in confusion. "I thought someone was breaking into the house."

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a jog."

"I'm not used to having another person around. Next time, just give me a warning."

"I didn't want to wake you up. It's still early and you looked really peaceful."

"It's Sunday anyway, got to start getting ready for church."

"Church?"

"Yeah, Max and I go to church every Sunday together."

"That's new. You were never the holy roller type."

"I told you I've changed since you left. Get used to it," Elle said storming off towards the stairs.

"Whoa," Tommy said grabbing her arm to make her stop. "I didn't mean to make you mad. It just surprised me is all. You never went to church before."

""Well, after you left and everyone was still blaming you for everything that went down, the entire town hated me. I tried talking to Merton, your Mom, heck I even called my parents but, nothing made me feel better. One morning I was walking around town to clear my head when I passed St. Patrick and something was telling me to go inside, so I did. Mass was about to start so I took a seat in the back of the church. I felt like every word, every song was directed at me. Even though I was getting dirty looks from many of the parishioners, I felt uplifted. Mass ended and everyone left but I stayed. The priest came by and asked me if I was okay. He immediately recognized who I was so he sat down with me and I talked to him for what felt like forever. He asked me to come back next week and I did."

"So you go every week?"

"Yep," Elle said and began walking up the stairs. "I need to get Max up and start getting ready."

When she got out of the shower, she found Tommy in the bedroom putting on a button down shirt with a nice pair of jeans. "Is this nice enough to wear to church?"

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Elle said, drying her hair with her towel.

"I want to spend the day with my family. If you two are going to church, I'm tagging along. If that's okay?"

"Of course that's okay! It's great actually!" Elle ran into the closet to pick something out to wear.

* * *

Elle walked into church with her husband and son behind her. They sat in their usual spot near the front. They could hear the whispers and felt the eyes of every parishioner watching them. Elle felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see her friend, Sarah and her daughter, Rory, sitting in the pew behind them. When Elle first started going to church at St. Patrick's, she met Sarah and the two became very good friends. Sarah's husband worked offshore so he was away from home a lot. Since the both of them were usually home alone, they started hanging out especially since their kids were the same age.

"Hey girl! Good morning, Max!" She said excitedly as Max smiled at her politely.

"Sarah, I want you to meet my husband, Tommy."

Sarah grew wide-eyed and waved at him enthusiastically. "It's so nice to meet you!"

Tommy nodded in her direction and smiled that million-dollar smile he had. Elle mouthed to her that she would explain later and turned around as mass began. Tommy was surprised to look down and see his son knew every word of every song. Tommy could see why Elle liked Fr. Steve so much. He was a young and charismatic priest that really livened up a Catholic mass. The hour that Tommy thought would slowly creep by, was over before he knew it.

They went to the cafeteria after mass, where they had coffee and doughnuts. Tommy was introduced to a lot more people while they ate their doughnuts. It seemed like most people at the church were excited to meet him, although he did notice the occasional disapproving stare. As Max devoured his doughnuts, Fr. Steve entered the cafeteria. Everyone was trying to get a chance to talk to him. He was almost like a celebrity. He made his rounds, stopping at every table to say hello. Their table was the last one he stopped at.

"Fr. Steve!" Max yelled at him, after wiping the powder from his face.

"Hello, Max. Enjoying those doughnuts I see."

"Father, do you have time to sit with us?" Elle asked.

"Sure," he said happily and sat down next to Max. He looked across the table at Elle and finally noticed the man sitting next to her.

"I want you to meet my husband, Tommy."

A big smile spread across Father Steve's face and he held his hand out towards Tommy and shook it vigorously. "Tommy, it's so nice to finally meet you. It's been a real treat to have Elle and Max here in the parish with us and we're all very excited for you to join us."

"I'm glad to be here and thank you for helping out my family while I was gone. I appreciate it."

They small talked for a while until the cafeteria was closing up and they walked out together. When they reached the parking lot they saw two women chatting by their cars, one looked over and nudged the other; they both looked at Tommy and scowled. Tommy could hear their conversation with his super sense of hearing. "Can you believe he's back? It's bad enough that little dog boy is going to school with our kids. Now _he's_ back," she said and they got into their vehicles. Tommy watched as they drove away in their cars. He knew he was going to face this sooner or later but, it bothered him that his son seemed to be facing it as well.

"Tommy?" Elle said, snapping him back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry, I zoned out for a second," he lied but noticed that Elle was not buying it. Even after being away for a long time, she knew him better than anyone.

"You guys have a good week," Father Steve said, waving to them as they walked to the Jeep. "See you at school, Max!"

Tommy didn't say much on the ride back home. He sat in silence and wondered what kind of rejection his son had already faced because of what he is – because of what his Father had made him. It occurred to him that he also didn't know what his son was really capable of at this young of an age. When they got home, Tommy asked Max if he could play in his room for a little bit while he talked to Elle.

"What's wrong, Tommy?" Elle asked as she folded the laundry that had been piled on the living room couch.

"What signs of being a werewolf does Max show?"

"Nothing physical yet. The full moon makes him really hyper. Every tiny little conniption fit he gets into, his eyes are glowing. He's always talking about things he hears, smells and sees that I can't. He's pretty strong for a kid. Why?"

"Has Merton ever tested him?"

"He's not a science experiment, Tommy."

"Elle, I just want to know if he's a full werewolf or not. I want to start teaching him. I want him to know what he's capable of. I don't want him to be afraid of what he is. I don't want it to hold him back. I know people are scared of him, reject him because of what he is. You saw those 2 women standing outside of church when we left?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"I could hear them talking about Max and I. How they couldn't believe monsters were allowed to be in school with their kids. I cursed him with this and I hate myself for it. I gave an innocent kid this huge responsibility. People are going to be afraid of him for the rest of his life. I know what that's like," Tommy said pacing back and forth in the living room. "Since tonight is the full moon, why don't I take him over to Merton's. He can watch me transform and I can teach him the basics. Merton can help explain everything."

"I don't know, Tommy. It's a school night," Elle said starting to ramble.

"He's not going to sleep anyway, you said it yourself."

"Fine," Elle said, giving in to his convincing smile. "One day I'm going to learn how to say no to you."


	9. Chapter 9

The Dawkins family had lunch together at home and afterwards Tommy and Max spent the afternoon in the backyard throwing around a football. Max was small but, he had an arm on him.

"You know I was the quarter back of my high school and college Football Team," Tommy said as he threw the ball back to Max.

"So you're like Drew Brees?"

"Sort of. I never got to play for the NFL like him. I just played for school."

"Why not?" Max questioned as he concentrated on lining up his fingers with the stitches on the ball and then throwing it.

Tommy caught it and studied his little boy. He didn't know how much he could tell him without scaring him. He wanted him to know being a werewolf wasn't easy but, he didn't want that information keeping him for doing his best. "Max, let's talk for a second," Tommy said and sat down on the porch. Max ran over and sat next to him. "Remember when I said that I was going to teach you everything about being a werewolf?" Max nodded enthusiastically. "Well, tonight is the full moon so I thought we could go over to Uncle Merton's house and you could watch my transformation."

"Transformation?"

"You can watch me change into a werewolf. See what it's like first hand."

"Ohhhhh, okay," Max said, kicking his legs back and forth as they dangled on the chair.

"How much do you know about werewolves?"

"I know you're really strong and can run really fast. I know you get all hairy and have claws and stuff when you're wolfed out."

"Right," Tommy said, tossing the football back and forth in his own hands. "What can you do?"

"I don't know. I don't think I'm the same. I don't change or nothing," Max said looking disappointed, which caught Tommy by surprise.

"Before it gets dark, we'll go over to Uncle Merton's, sound good, buddy?" Tommy gave Max a small punch on the arm and Max laughed and nodded.

Tommy, Elle and Max walked to Merton's house that afternoon before dark. Tommy could already feel the wolf inside trying to get out. It was like electricity flowing through his body making him want to scream. Merton brought them down to the basement, a part of his house that Max had never seen before. When he opened the door, Tommy was surprised to see it looked just like the basement that he had back at home when they first became friends. Every detail was the same. 

"Dude, the Lair!" Tommy shouted and slapped Merton on the back, almost knocking him over.

"Whoa, cool skull!" Max picked a skull up off of Merton's desk and Elle started yelling at him.

"Hands off the cranium," Merton said, taking it back and carefully placing it back on the desk. He had tried to make the Lair more kid friendly but, realized he would have to take every single item out. Max's eyes continued to scan the room, taking in every weird and interesting thing in it.

"I can't believe I'm back in the Lair. Makes me feel like we're back in high school," Tommy said as he plopped down in a black leather chair.

"I feel like it's an appropriate place for Max to learn all things wolfy. After all, it's where I taught you," Merton said, locking the door to the weapons closet.

"What's in there?" Max asked.

"Nothing that you need to worry about," Elle said and sat down in the ornate chair behind the desk. "I'm going to sit back here. You go over there with Dad and Uncle Merton and listen to everything they say. I'll be watching."

Max nodded his head and joined Tommy and Merton by a chalkboard. Merton looked at his watch and nodded at Tommy. Tommy stood up and stretched. He was kind of nervous. It felt weird for him to be standing there on display for his son to watch him transform for the first time.

"Alright, Max, you know the basics. You know that werewolves can normally control the wolf, keep it inside. However, on the night of the full moon, a werewolf transforms no matter what."

"Why?" Max asked.

"There are many theories but, no one knows for sure why the full moon affects werewolves. In the case of werewolves like your Dad, who were bit, they don't actually become a true werewolf until their first full moon after the attack."

"You were bit?"

"Yes, I went on a camping trip the night before my Senior year in high school and was attacked in the woods, I was bit right here on this arm," Tommy said raising his arm up, "I wasn't born this way, like you."

"Sounds scary."

"It was but, I was lucky enough to have Merton to help me out," Tommy said, took a deep breath and kicked off his shoes. "It's Show Time." Tommy looked out the small window in the basement, just like the one Merton used to have and saw the moonlight shining in. He could feel the hair growing all over his body, the nails on his fingers and toes becoming claws, as well as his teeth sharpening into fangs. He looked down at Max with sharpened vision. He looked equal parts amazed and scared. He didn't say anything, just stared at Tommy. Merton could sense that Tommy was worried that he had scared the boy. He cleared his throat and was about to say something when Max finally spoke.

"Does it hurt?"

"It hurt the first time but, not anymore," Tommy said, catching Elle watching him.

"Max, why don't you come get a closer look," Merton said, stretching out his pointer. "The first thing you probably noticed is all the hair but, there are a lot of other changes." He pointed towards Tommy's eyes. "Notice the wolf-like eyes that go with the super sense of sight. You'll see the teeth have become fangs," Merton said as Tommy opened his mouth. Merton turned Tommy's head to the side, showing Max his long ears. "These are the wolf ears that your father is very sensitive about."

Tommy growled, making Max jump back. "Sorry, kiddo, didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay, I wasn't scared," Max said and continued listening to Merton.

"Any questions?" Merton asked, when he was done explaining.

"Will I ever look like that?"

"I don't know, Max. There's not much information on half-werewolves. Not to mention, there's not much documented on young werewolves. I even called Tristan when Elle was pregnant to see if she had any information. The only thing she could tell me is that full-breed werewolves sometimes don't show full physical changes until puberty but, each werewolf is different."

"We'll just have to wait and see, buddy," Tommy said.

They spent the rest of the night, testing Max's sight, hearing and strength. It was clear that he had the super senses of a werewolf. Eventually, Max started to get a little sleepy and they went home. They tucked the little boy in and went to their bedroom. Tommy was wide awake – the full moon going strong but, Elle was struggling to keep her eyes open. He laid in bed with her, watching TV as she rested her head on his chest.

"Seeing you wolf-out never ceases to amaze me," Elle said, sleepily.

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen you do it a million times but, it's still unbelievable. No matter how many years go by, the fact that I married a werewolf never sounds less crazy."

Tommy ran his fingers through her hair. "The fact that I married such a beautiful and amazing woman never ceases to amaze me."

"I'm nothing special, that's why it was so easy to leave me," she said and rolled over on her side, facing away from him.

"Elle- don't do this!" Tommy said and put a paw on her hip tugging her so that she would face him. "I've made my mistakes. I don't expect you to ever forgive me for that. After seeing you and the life you've created for our son, I can't forgive myself but, I'm here now. I'm never going to leave you again. I love you." He kissed her and put his arms around her. 


	10. Chapter 10

Elle's alarm went off Monday morning, letting her know it was time to take Max to school. She rolled over to turn the annoying sound off and reluctantly got out of bed. She walked to Max's room to find it vacant. Even though she tried her best to stay calm, panic set in. She ran ran into her bedroom to grab her pistol and walked down the stairs. A warm and delicious smell reached her nose and she walked to the kitchen. She found Max sitting at the table, holding a fork and impatiently waiting for food. Tommy stood at the stove making pancakes. She relaxed and set the gun down on the counter.

"You're up already?" Elle asked, seeing as most mornings, she had to pull her son out of bed.

"I couldn't sleep. The pancakes smelled too good," he said holding up his fork.

"Well, I'm glad you're up early! I have a million and one things to do today," Elle said making a cup of coffee. "As soon as you're done eating your pancakes, you need to get dressed. I need to drop you off early. I have a bunch of custom orders that need to be out today." She had started a company that she ran entirely at home. She made custom costumes and dresses that she sold online.

"I can drop him off today," Tommy said as he flipped two pancakes onto Max's plate, which he immediately drowned in syrup. "I have a few things that I need to do around town. I don't mind."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know. I want to," Tommy said, sitting down at the table shoving pancakes in his mouth.

Elle knew her son was in good hands with his father, the man she chose to marry but, she still felt weird about it. She was weird about anybody taking care of Max. The only person she ever fully trusted around him was Merton. However, she knew that if Tommy was going to become a part of their lives she had to learn to trust him again. "Okay. This will be good. I can get a head start."

Elle helped Max get ready and walked the two of them to the Jeep. Max hoped in and she shut the door behind him. Tommy turned the engine on and Max rolled down the window to give Elle a kiss. "Bye sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too, Mom."

Elle watched as they backed out of the driveway. A million things ran through her mind. Even though Max barely knew his father, she knew he would be the safest with him. Nothing could harm her child as long as he was with his werewolf father. She tried to remind herself of that. She walked inside and tried to focus on the orders she had to get done.

Tommy flipped through the radio stations to find some good music and finally stopped when he heard AC/DC on a classic rock station. He laughed when he noticed Max banging his head to the music.

"How do you like going to St. Patrick's?"

"It's school," Max said, fiddling with his hands.

"Aw come on, can't be that bad. At least you get to see your friends."

Max looked down at his feet and Tommy could tell that friends were a sore topic. "Dude, what's wrong?"

"I don't have a lot of friends."

"That can't be true. You're a cool kid. Why wouldn't anyone want to be friends with Max Dawkins?" Tommy said and nudged him in the arm.

"Cause I'm a freak."

"You're not a freak. Why would you say that?"

"A lot of the kids make fun of me and call me dog boy. I do have a couple friends that I hang out with at recess but, their parents won't let them hang out with me outside school because of...because of you," Max said looking up at Tommy.

Tommy never felt as bad in his entire life as he did in this moment. All of his fears were coming true. His son would be forever treated different because of him. It wasn't fair. He was just a kid. He knew he needed to do something about it. He pulled up into the drop off line and put his hand on Max's shoulder. "Max, I'm sorry if I've made life difficult for you. I should have never left but, I'm here now. A lot of things are going to change. I'm going to make sure of that."

"Okay, Dad," Max said as he hoped out the Jeep, pulled on his backpack and grabbed his lunch.

"Love you, Dude," Tommy shouted out and Max turned around and gave him a big smile. "Love you too!" Tommy watched him walk towards a few other kids and a teacher. He wanted so bad to go to school with him all day and make sure that nobody would hurt him but, he knew he couldn't do that. His son had to learn to be tough. If it got bad enough, Tommy would get involved. He saw Merton get picked on and the effects it had on him. He didn't want that life for his son.

Tommy drove with the windows down, trying to clear his mind. He needed things to change in this town. He knew it wouldn't happen overnight but, he had to at least publicly let people know that he was back. He needed to talk to Marc Anderson, the new mayor that had taken over for his Dad. He had been a life long friend of the family and he had helped out a lot after his Dad's death. He walked into the mayor's office and was greeted by the receptionist. "Good morning, how can I help you?"

"I need to talk to Mayor Anderson."

"I'll have to see if he's available. What's your name?"

"Tommy Dawkins."

The receptionist dropped her smile and looked up at Tommy, really looked at him. "Hold on, one moment." She got up and ran to the door to Marc's office, knocked and walked inside. When she came back out, she was all smiles again. "You can come right this way." Tommy walked into his Dad's old office for the first time since he died. Seeing Marc sitting behind the desk was weird.

"Tommy Dawkins!" Marc walked from behind his desk and gave Tommy a giant hug. "It's like seeing a ghost. I thought you were dead. It's so good to see you!"

"I'm happy to be back."

"This is so great! Your Mom has been a wreck without you," Marc said and gestured for Tommy to sit down.

"Thank you for everything you did for my family while I was gone."

"You don't have to thank me. Your Father was like a brother to me."

"I know but, you didn't have to help. I know that anyone associated with me isn't exactly popular around here," Tommy said looking around at how much the office had changed.

"That's true but, I know the truth. You're a good man, Tommy. Just like your Father. I'll always be here to help out the Dawkins'."

"Well, that's kind of why I'm here. I want to be a part of this town again. I want to live, work and raise my family here but, I know it's not going to be easy. I was wondering if you could help me find a job. I figured people wouldn't be to eager to hire me."

"Certainly! I'm sure I can find something," Marc looked down at his watch. "I'm sorry, Tommy. I have a meeting to go to but, I'm happy you're back. I will do my best to find a good job for you. Make sure to give Margie at the front desk your number and I'll be in touch."

"Thank you so much," Tommy said shaking his hand. He felt good after talking to Marc. If he at least had him on his side, maybe living peacefully in Pleasantville wasn't as far fetched as he thought.

* * *

Tommy stood in front of his Father's grave. There were just as many fresh flowers today as there was the day of his burial, which had been the last time he had been there. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and took a deep breath. "I miss you, Pop," he said and looked around, feeling slightly silly for talking to a tombstone. "I can't believe it's been six years. Some days it feels like that night was a million years ago and some days it feels like it was yesterday. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have been there to stop them. You and Mom were always there for me. Even when you found out that I was a werewolf and the town wanted me dead, you were there. You were a great Father and that's what I want to be for Max. I know I messed up when I ran away but, I'm never going to do that again. I'm going to be the man, the Father that you raised me to be. I'll make you proud of me again."


	11. Chapter 11

"Alright. Got it. Babe, I think I got this," Tommy said, talking to Elle over the phone while he was driving back to St. Patrick's. "How hard can picking up my son from school be? I'll figure it out. You need to focus on your commissions. I'll pick up Max and we'll be home in a bit, okay? Bye."

Tommy pulled up to the school and saw a bunch of cars lined up even though he was a little early. He started to play around on his phone when it rang. "Hello, this is Tommy."

"Hey it's Marc Anderson. Listen, I have an idea regarding a job that I'd like to talk to you about."

"Great!" Tommy said excitedly as kids started to walk outside.

"I was hoping we could meet up at the bar tonight to talk about it?"

He spotted Max talking to a slightly chubby boy with curly dirty blonde hair. They were both hunched over a comic. "Um…tonight? Well Merton was supposed to come over and-"

"Tell him to come too! Say around 9? I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys tonight!"

"Okay, me too. Thanks again!"

When Tommy looked back at Max, he noticed another boy had joined him and his friend. The boy was a bit taller than Max, light brown hair and a smirk on his face that Tommy found eerily familiar. The boy grabbed the comic from Max's hands and began flipping through it. Tommy rolled down his window and listened to the conversation.

"X-Men," he said and waved it around to a few other boys that walked up behind him. "Guess you read this cause The Beast reminds you of your Daddy." All the others kids started to laugh.

Max looked up at the boy with hate in his eyes. "Give it back, Chaz."

"Make me," he said leaning against a wall and continuing to flip through it.

Max's eyes flashed yellow and he balled up his fist. Just before Tommy was about to jump out of the car, a teacher came by and prevented an almost horrible situation. "Chaz, is that your comic?"

"No, I don't read X-Men," he said and threw it back at Max.

"Chaz Freeman, we don't throw. Tell Max you're sorry," she said with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Max," he said as he walked away with the teacher.

Max carefully put the comic in his book bag and his curly headed friend shook his head and said, "What a jerk. Anyway, I still can't believe your Dad is back in town!"

"I wish you could come over and hang out with him. He's really cool."

Tommy realized this boy must have been one of the kids that had parents that didn't want their child hanging out with Max. It was a shame because Tommy knew the value of friendship and could see that these two were really good friends. He hated that he was the driving force keeping them apart outside of school. However, he was happy that Max at least did have someone to talk to at school. The pickup line moved slow but, eventually Max ran to the Jeep and hopped inside.

"Hey, buddy. How was school?"

"It was school, " Max said waving goodbye to his friend while his friend stood in disbelief, staring at Tommy.

"What's your friend's name?"

"Joey."

"Cool. Maybe he can come over sometime and we can play football."

"Joey doesn't play sports. Besides he can't come over anyway."

Tommy sat in silence. He was going to change things. He knew that. He made a promise to everyone that he was going to do that. He couldn't do that until he talked to Marc tonight. He was going to get a job and then, if Marc let him, make a public announcement about him being back. As soon as everything was in place, Tommy Dawkins would happily reside in the Town of Pleasantville once again.

* * *

Tommy and Merton arrived at Murphy's, the local bar, promptly at 9PM. They saw Marc sitting at a table near the bar and joined him. Marc stood up, slapped Tommy on the back and shook Merton's hand. "Viv, can you get these two something to drink?" A young woman in short shorts and a crop top came over to take their order. "They're on my tab."

"You don't have to do that," Tommy said.

"Don't worry about. I want to treat you guys tonight," Marc said taking a sip of beer. "Tommy, you know our town is a hot spot for the supernatural. In recent years, it seems to have gotten worse. Because of that, regular old run of the mill crimes have grown immensely. Our police force has diminished greatly. They weren't equipped or educated enough to fight these monsters. You are." Viv set drinks in front of Tommy and Merton, making sure to bend over enough to show cleavage. "I wanted to assemble a special task force just for fighting these monsters and I want you to lead it. What do you say?"

"Wow, sure I'd love to take the job." Tommy said as Marc raised his glass to cheers with Tommy.

"Merton, I know you're knowledgeable about weapons for these monsters. We'd love to have you on the team to consult with someone who could produce high tech weapons."

"Absolutely, I'd love to help."

Tommy chuckled. "I never thought in a million years I would get paid for this."

"That's cause you're a good guy, Tommy. You saved the town out of the kindness of your heart and never expected anything in return. I want this town to be what it used to be. I want to make it a Pleasantville that Bob Dawkins would be proud of and there's no one more qualified to do that than you."

"Wow, thanks so much Marc. This means a lot. When should we start?"

"As soon as possible. I can get a meeting arranged with the Sheriff tomorrow if you're available."

"Sounds good. I'll be there," Tommy finished off his beer and signaled to Viv for another. "I also wanted to ask if we could arrange some sort of town meeting so I could officially announce that I'm back. I figured it might make people feel better if I just put it all on the table."

"Definitely, I'll arrange something."

The three men continued drinking for a couple hours, reminiscing about good times with Bob Dawkins before they eventually headed home.

* * *

Tommy snuck into the house as quietly as he could but, as soon as he laid in bed, Elle turned over and sleepily smiled at him. "Sorry I didn't mean to wake you up," Tommy said, getting under the covers. "But, since you're up, I might as well tell you the good news. Marc got me a job. I'm going to be leading a special task force with the police to fight monsters."

"Tommy, that's awesome!"

"I'm starting tomorrow so I won't be able to bring Max to school."

"I can handle it. I got a lot of work done today. I'm so proud of you," she said and kissed him on the cheek. "Everything is going to work out. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Tommy was so excited about this job, he could hardly sleep. He woke up early and went for a jog to steady his nerves. He came back home to grab a bite to eat, catching Elle and Max leaving for school. "Have a good day at school, Buddy!" He grabbed a pack of pop-tarts and walked to Merton's house. He walked in through the basement, just as he always had in high school, to find Merton asleep on the couch. He raised the blinds on the door, making Merton scramble to find a blanket to cover his eyes. "Wake up, sunshine. We have a meeting to go to," Tommy said taking the blanket from him.

Merton mumbled incoherent insults under his breath. "Come on, dude, wake up."

"I miss the old Tommy, "Merton said scratching his head, making his messy tangle of hair, even messier. "The Tommy that never woke up before noon."

"I honestly don't remember the last time I slept that late," Tommy said tossing around a skull that he found on Merton's desk. "Besides, I couldn't sleep at all last night. I was too excited."

Merton went upstairs to get ready, leaving Tommy behind in the lair. He sat down at the chair behind the desk and noticed a frame containing a picture of Tommy playing his game-boy looking up at the camera with Lori standing next to him with Merton's old pet snake wrapped around her shoulders. Tommy smiled thinking of how often they would sit in the lair just like that, trying to figure out how to fight the newest big bad in town. He knew that life would never be that carefree again but, he was damn well sure going to try to give his son that same life. Merton walked back in to the basement, hair spiked to perfection, "You ready?"


End file.
